The job was a big one.

Amber Whiting was a successful girls basketball high school coach in Idaho and had great connections to the AAU circuit when she was hired by BYU three seasons ago to replace Jeff Judkins. The Cougars were playing in the West Coast Conference at the time and in 2023 joined the powerful Big 12.

The results over that three-year period weren’t to either party’s satisfaction.

Whiting and BYU have agreed to “part ways,” according to a news release from BYU Saturday morning. Anyone who has met Whiting would know how competitive she is and how she would have loved to get a fourth season in Provo to take care of unfinished business, so anything with “mutual agreement” attached to it has to be taken with a grain of salt.

Whiting proved to be a good recruiter and her team in 2024-25 was led by Big 12 Freshman of the Year Delaney Gibb as well as sophomore Amari Whiting, Amber’s daughter who committed to Oregon before her mother took the BYU job.

Coach Whiting never had a winning record in her three seasons. The Cougars were 13-17 in their final year in the WCC and posted identical 16-17 records in two seasons in the Big 12. However, BYU was 10-26 in Big 12 play and eliminated in the first round of the league tournament the past two seasons.

There were some highlights. Coach Whiting convinced Lauren Gustin to return for her senior season in 2023-24 and Gustin led the nation in rebounding, eventually breaking the school’s career record. The Cougars upset No. 18 Baylor last season and No. 20 Oklahoma State in February, both victories at the Marriott Center. But BYU struggled with the athleticism of Big 12 defenses, leading the league in turnovers this season (18.4 per game).

The Cougars never beat Utah during Whiting’s tenure (0-4) and ended the 2024-25 campaign losing seven of their final eight games. Of the team’s 14 league losses, nine were by single digits including two in overtime.

The news release indicated associate head coach Lee Cummard will take over on an interim basis. Cummard was a grad assistant for Dave Rose on the men’s program for two seasons and a full-time assistant in 2018-19 before Rose retired. He joined Jeff Judkins and the women’s program the following season and stayed through Whiting’s time in Provo.

While there is bound to be some movement on the roster, retaining Gibb should be priority No. 1. Gibb won the Big 12 Freshman of the Week award 10 times and averaged 17.4 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game while making 77 3-pointers.

Amari Whiting (10.3 ppg) is a two-year starter who, according to reports on Saturday, had already put her name in the transfer portal.

The Cougars graduate Emma Calvert (12.6 ppg), Kemery Congdon (9.2 ppg), Kendra Gillispie, Lauren Davenport and walk-on Kylie Krebs. LMU transfer Marya Hudgins started seven games before an injury robbed her of the rest of her first season in Provo. Two freshmen from Idaho, Brinley Cannon and Kambree Barber, played key roles off the bench. New Zealand native Arielle Mackey-Williams, who started 24 games in 2022-23, has suffered two knee injuries and missed the past two seasons but indicated she was working to come back in 2025-26.

BYU has already signed four-star guard Sydney Benally, the New Mexico Gatorade Player of the Year and Montana prep standout Braeden Gunlock from the Class of 2025. Miriam Traore, a 6-foot-3 post player and younger sister of current BYU men’s player Fousseyni Traore, joined the program in January and is rehabbing after a knee injury. Kailey Woolston averaged 13.3 points per game last season as a freshman and is serving a church mission in Maryland. She’s due to return next season.

Here is the complete news release from BYU:

“BYU women’s basketball head coach Amber Whiting announced Saturday that she will not be returning for the 2025-26 season as she and BYU have agreed to part ways.

“Whiting took over the BYU women’s basketball program ahead of the 2022-23 season and served as head coach for the past three seasons. During Whiting’s time at the helm of the Cougar program she compiled an overall record of 45-51, including a 19-35 mark in conference matchups.

“Leading BYU women’s basketball into the Big 12 Conference, her Cougar squad notched two ranked wins, knocking off the 18th-ranked Baylor Bears on Feb 10, 2024, and the No. 20 Oklahoma State Cowgirls on Feb. 15, 2025.

“Under Whiting’s tutelage, four players earned conference honors, highlighted by the 2025 Big 12 Freshman of the Year, Delaney Gibb and the 2023 WCC Defensive Player of the Year and BYU all-time rebounding leader, Lauren Gustin. Whiting also coached the nation’s second-ranked three-point shooter in Kailey Woolston during the 2023-24 season.

“Her Cougar squad made two trips to the postseason, the WNIT in 2023 and the newly formed WBIT in 2024.

“With Whiting’s departure, BYU women’s basketball associate head coach Lee Cummard will now serve as interim head coach.”